State Fair: Sprint to address trouble with cellphone service on Fairgrounds

If you've had trouble tweeting that picture of the amazing deep-fried treat from the Minnesota State Fair, it might not be your phone. It might be your service provider.

Folks on Sprint plans have run into trouble the first couple of days of the State Fair, as a cellphone tower moved to the Fairgrounds proved faulty and technicians wait for parts. Phone and data service appear to work fine up until the early afternoon, when crowds and their smartphones overwhelm nearby towers.

Brienna Schuette, a Fair spokeswoman, said Sprint was supposed to have the situation in hand before the gates opened Thursday. Her staff uses work phones that operate on the Sprint network.

"For people that have Sprint, it's a major inconvenience," she said Friday afternoon.